


Ten Years Later

by GingerLocks



Series: Shieldshock Oneshots [3]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor (Movies)
Genre: F/M, High School, High School Reunion, Normal AU, skinny love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-10
Updated: 2016-07-10
Packaged: 2018-07-22 16:32:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,266
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7446070
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GingerLocks/pseuds/GingerLocks
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's no secret that Steve has been in love with Darcy since freshman year, but apart from a drunken hook up at their prom, they never were more than friends.<br/>Now it's ten years later and Steve has a plan on how to finally get the girl... A five-step plan that she foils in point five seconds, when she walks in with her boyfriend. </p><p>So unfair.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ten Years Later

_'This is the definition of unfair.'_ Steve thinks to himself as he takes a sip from the stupid red cup and stares at her when she enters.

 _'This is the most unfair that I have ever dealt with.'_ He thought as he took in her dress, a long, simple number that hugged her body just like it had at prom.

 _'This is the opposite of fair.'_ He fumes as she smiles to the tall, handsome man next to her who is whispering in her ear.

He is fuming about the unfairness of it all and is way too busy to notice his friends gathering around him with knowing looks.

“Looks like nothing has changed since high school” Bucky noted amusedly, making Steve jump and spill the contents of his cup all over himself. “Nothing has changed at all,” he laughs as Steve blushes and tries not to remember the day in the 10th grade where he spilled apple juice on his lap and Darcy had teased him relentlessly.

“I hope for your sake that’s apple juice.” He heard a familiar voice laugh behind him. He froze in the middle of shaking the cheap champagne off of his sleeve.

“Haha, very funny,” he said with as much dignity as he could muster and turned to look at her.

She looked even better than she had ten years ago. The gangly limbs looked less gangly, she actually filled out her dress. She had also done something to her hair, let her hair stay curly, and gotten bangs. Her recent trip to Hawaii had given her a slight tan. He knew loads of other things about her from his frequent stalking sessions on socialmedias and teasing comments and updates from Bucky and Natasha.

Darcy smiled at him, and he couldn’t help but smile back.

“Steve,” she said and wrapped him in a hug.

“Darcy.” He answered as he held on a little longer than he probably should in front of her boyfriend. God, she still smelled the same.

“Hey gang,” she smiled to the rest of their friends as she gave them all hugs as well. Steve downed the rest of the meager contents of his red cup, and went to get another as she introduced this Sam-person to the rest.

If this universe had been fair, a lot of things would be different. There would be no hunger, no wars, no bullies, no misogyny, no racism, no hate, no accidents, no cancer, and Darcy Lewis would not have shown up to their high school reunion with a date.

Steve had made a five point plan, that she had destroyed in point five seconds.

 **One** : Reconnect at reunion.

 **Two** : Casually point out that they both lived in the same city.

 **Three** : Even more casually ask her if she wanted to meet up some time next week for coffees to catch up “or something.” (“Yeah, wouldn’t wanna seem too eager,” Bucky deadpanned when he’d nervously gone over the plan with him two weeks ago.)

 **Four** : Ask her out _after months of wussing out_. (‘after months of wussing out’ was added by Bucky and Steve had mentally, and resentfully, agreed.)

 **Five** : Confess his undying love for her, get married, have a few kids and live happily ever after. (This whole point was also added by Bucky, but it's not as if this wasn't his ultimate goal...)

Sam’s unpredicted presence was making it awfully hard to complete step four (and five), which meant steps one, two and three were not needed, and it would be best if he avoided her all night. He was not going to ruin her relationship and whine about missing his chance when it was 100% his fault for never taking action before. 

How many times had he stared at his phone, her contact information lighting up his screen, and thought about calling her? How many E-Mails and texts and letters had he written to her then promptly deleted or thrown away before he could send them? How many times had he looked her up on facebook and been relieved to see she was still single, only to find her tagged in a photo with some guy's arm around her and her wearing his hoodie? 

Steve might be a big guy now, a man who worked out regularly and had a steady income that meant he could afford his asthma meds and healthier foods and to dress nicer and get his haircut done by someone other than Bucky with blunt scissors and a kitchen bowl. He knew he looked better than he had in high school, but the confidence was not all there yet, and he was not as smooth around women as Bucky, and when it came to matters of the heart he was afraid of taking the leap. 

During college Darcy had gotten into Culiver and moved to Virginia while Steve had stayed with Bucky in New York, and the 8 hour roadtrips Darcy had taken home to meet her family and friends became fewer and further in between, and the onslaught of social media made it both easier and harder to stay in touch. And they were busy after all, getting their degrees and working part-time jobs, and then she'd taken an internship in New Mexico of all places, and her updates online had sporadic at best, and Steve had seen a picture of what looked like a blond model smiling in a diner on her facebook wall tagged with #GodofThunder and snooped through the comments to see she called this Thor person that because his snoring shook the whole trailer and kept her up at night and decided to stop torturing himself and to move on. 

It was hard, he kept comparing his dates to her, even those who were nothing like her. He'd gone out with a tall, dark french student once, physically he looked nothing like Darcy and personality wise they were quite different, but whenever he had laughed he'd thrown his head back and roared without inhibitions just like she did, and Steve just wanted to be near that joy, the life that sort of emanated from both of them. Bucky had sat him down and talked some sense into him after he was introduced, and he stopped trying after that. 

Darcy then took a semester abroad in London, and moved back to Virginia to finish her degrees and #GodofThunder was still popping up on her instagram and facebook wall, and it was not until a month ago that he found out that the 4 year long relationship he'd thought she'd been in with Thor, Thor had been dating her best friend and mentor Dr. Jane Foster, and looking back the signs were all there, and Steve had felt foolish when he looked at the photo from the destination wedding on a Hawaiian beach between the big blond model and the tiny scientist. Steve could not believe he'd spent the past 4 years thinking she was in a committed relationship and missing his chance.

So no, seeing Darcy and Sam together was not optimal for him, but it had been ten years, and he had promised himself (and Bucky) that if Darcy turned him down, he'd let go. And since none of the five points were happening, he'd be better off avoiding her tonight and limiting the temptation to reach out and touch her, to hold her hand and brush her hair out of her eyes, to throw his arm on the back of her chair as they sat together. No, it would all be harder after if he indulged in her presence now, and he needed to get over her. 

He decided to avoid her. She did not make it easy on him though, as she kept popping up whenever he thought he was safe, prompting him to promptly drain his cup and excuse himself to get a new one. He tried to ignore her joyous laughter and gorgeous smile, but it was getting harder with every drink he chugged and he envied the way Sam would throw his arm around her as she gestured wildly with her hands in her enthusiastic retelling of how she and Jane met Thor.

"Now tell them how we met!" Sam prompted her after she finished her story, and Steve excused himself to refill his red solo cup with the punch that tasted slightly more spiked as the night went on.  

The only two effects this Plan B had was that he managed to get drunk by midnight, and Darcy grew more annoyed at him and glared whenever he got up for a refill or to piss. He knew he was being rude, but he was drunk enough not to care. 

When he made his way back from the bathroom for the third time in half an hour, he was surprised to be tackled from behind and pushed into the janitor’s closet to his left.

 _The_ janitor’s closet.

He gulped, stumbling around to face her as she scowled at him in the light from the single light bulb that hung from the ceiling, swaying after he bumped his head into it. He hadn't been this tall the last time they'd been in here.

He remembered that last time well, and repeatedly, it had been his only time with Darcy. He remembered her mouth on his, his hands on her hips and her hands in his hair. He blinked and looked away from her mouth, lest he be tempted to kiss her like he had then. There was not a lot to look at in here, just some toilet paper and boxes of chalk that he remembered them knocking over last time, as she'd slammed him against the shelves. The teachers had complained over broken chalk for the rest of the school year, making him blush each time.

He blinked again and looked at his feet to stop himself blushing like that again, which was a bad decision as the small room forced her to stand just close enough that her breasts were in his face. There were more of them now than when her dress had pooled around her hips as he kissed and licked and bit them. He blinked rapidly and looked up at her face again, blushing faintly enough that he hoped the dim, swaying light would hide it.

All of this took less than three seconds, so Darcy had unfortunately not rearranged her facial expression, stuck in that glare since he'd rudely turned down Sam's efforts to talk to him an hour ago. She still looked pissed.

“What the _fuck_ are you doing?” She demanded, shoving his shoulder hard enough to make his drunk-ass stumble again. He gestured to the door with a vague shrug, hitting his hand on the doorframe, he’d been much shorter last time, and now his arm was long enough to reach the door. He wanted to reach up both arms, trap her between him and the door, just one step of his longer legs and...

“You’ve been avoiding me all night! You've been rude to me and Sam! Why?!”

He mumbled, looking at the ceiling before could be distracted by her heaving chest, not really giving her an answer.

“Steve...” she said, and he looked down at her again, her voice was weaker and he saw tears in her eyes. Steve is confused.

“Sam?” He answers, hoping it would make her stop crying, remind her why he was keeping his distance and whom she should be locking herself into the janitor’s closet with.

“What?”

“Your date, Sam.”

"Yes you have been rude to him, he's a great guy Steve and-"

Steve shook his head, she didn't understand. "No, Sam's the reason," Steve looked at a scratch on the door next to her face, not wanting to see her pity, "I was going to try to ask you out, but then you show up with your handsome, ex-military boyfriend and I..." Steve shrugged finally mustering the courage to look at her face and hoping she would understand, would let him be.

Darcy blinked up at him, looking perplexed. The silence seemed to stretch forever, but in reality was only a few beats of Cascada's _Every Time We Touch_ that was playing in the gym. 

“Sam is gay, Steve.” Darcy looked like she was on the verge of laughing at him, and Steve, who had admittedly been glancing at her lips and waiting for her rejection was again confused. 

“He- what?”

“Sam is my best friend from work in DC, we both relocated to New York and share an apartment here. He saw a picture of Bucky on instagram and has been thirsting for him forever so I asked him to come with me so I could introduce them." This time she did let out a slight laugh, not the bellyaching, roaring laugh that he associated with her, but a light, low chuckle that was mostly air, as if she too was relieved, as if she too was nervous. 

The relief that flooded him almost made him stumble again, and he let out a short sigh that might have been his own relieved laugh.

"I also invited him for _moral_ support," Darcy continued, crossing her arms under her breasts, "so _I_ could ask _you_ out, you _idiot!_ He's here for Buck and if you'd stayed still when we were around you would have known that instead of jumping to false conclusions!”

“But I-wait… ask _me_ out?”

She nodded, jaw clenched, and this time he really did laugh in relief... and elation.

_She liked him!_

And later he would have to blame it on his elation, drunkenness and relief, on they way she'd crossed her arms and pushed her breasts up, on the fiery look in her eyes and the determination on her face, because the next second, he'd ducked his head down and slanted his mouth over hers. Trapping her between his long arms and the door, backing her up and pressing himself against her, and God it was _better_ than it was in high school.

She moaned and clutched his head, scratching her nails over the short hairs on his neck. It was like prom night all over again, the best part of it. Muscle memory from their one night of twenty minutes in heaven. 

His hand skimmed up her waist, cupping her breast through her dress, groaning into the kiss when he realised she didn’t have a bra on underneath. She retaliated by fighting through his buttons and cupping his pectoral.

“Damn, you bulked up,” she muttered and let her hand slide down his stomach, cursing again at the abs she found there, and started working on his belt. He felt pride warm his chest as he nibbled on her collarbone, pushing her strap out of the way. Then someone started banging on the door.

“Ignore it,” he mumbled, absentmindedly, reaching around her to flick the lock and pull her closer, unzipping the tiny zipper. "They don't know it's us." 

She hummed and started dragging his belt out of the belt hoops, he grabbed her hips and spun them so that she was pressed against the wall instead, further away from the annoying knocks. She whimpered when her back hit the wall and he groaned, nuzzling her cleavage, leaning his torso away from her a little so her hands could easily slide his shirt off his shoulders.

“Darcy! I swear if you are having sex with Steve in there to Cascada's _Every Time We Touch_ then I will never let you hear the end of it.”

“Shit.” Darcy whispered as they froze. “Quick, zip me back up.”

He unwillingly obliged, and Sam continued teasing Darcy through the door. Darcy bent down and picked up his shirt as he tried to calm himself down, he put it on and she helped him button it back up, which undid some of the calming he'd just done. She hiked up her straps as he adjusted his pants, belt lost in one of the dark corners somewhere. Her hair was a mess and he gave up untangling it when Sam started knocking again, all the while repeating his earlier mantra to himself.

_Unfair, unfair, unfair._

It took them two minutes before they burst out of the closet, only to find Sam tapping his foot and shaking his head. Steve could see the slight smirk on his face and knew he really enjoying this.

“You are the worst friend.” Darcy scowled at him.

“I am the best friend you’ll ever have, baby.” He smiled, then turned to Steve as Darcy went to the bathroom to assess the damage.

“I am sorry, but she made me swear I wouldn’t let her have drunken sex in the janitor’s closet with you again.”

Steve just wanted to go back time and tell Darcy to push him into a classroom instead.

“She wanted to ask you out for coffee and maybe dinner and a movie, she had a whole plan made up.”

Steve smiled, “A five point plan?”

“What?" Sam frowned, "Darcy? Of course not! Her plan was more, talk to Steve, ask him out, and if that fails kiss and strongarm him.”

They laughed.

"I'm guessing she strongarmed you since I found you in the closet." 

“Well yes," Steve laughed, then frowned, "I'm sorry I was being a dick to you, I thought you were her boyfriend and got incredibly jealous and angry. You foiled _my_ plans"

"Water under the bridge, man. I'm guessing your plan had five points?"

"Yes, point two was months of beating around the bush before asking her out, I'm glad she strongarmed me, she sure gets shit done.” Steve laughed. 

"Don't I know it!" Sam laughed and launched into a story of Darcy swaggering into work her first day at the office, solved a problem like it was no big deal and had somehow gotten the best desk in a bet during lunch. "I worked my way to that desk for over a year and she won it from me in half a day!"

Darcy joined them, blushing and complaining about them telling each other stories of her (mis)adventures and being annoyed that they got along, claiming she wanted them to become friends, not allied against her!

There it was after midnight, those who lived in the suburbs with kids had long ago left to relieve babysitters, and the early 2000's dance music had stopped the song playing now was an old one, one that had been old ten years ago, and Steve smiled.

“Wanna slow dance?” he asked, holding his hand out to her.

“I thought you would never ask,” she rolled her eyes and accepted his hand.

“Well, admittedly, it did take me ten years.” He said as he wrapped his arms around her.

“Twelve,” She corrected him absentmindedly, “I wanted you to ask me to homecoming when we were sophomores.”

“Really? Because I wanted to ask you.” He grinned and pulled her closer.

"Leave room for the holy spirit!" Sam shouted from the other side of the gym where he was dancing with Bucky.

Darcy flipped him off with her left hand as she used her right hand to pull on Steve's neck. 

He kissed her, and for a minute it was like they were 17 again. 

“Well it took you long enough!” they heard Bucky shout, so he too flipped them the bird. 

~~******* ~~

He said the same exact thing at their wedding, another ten years later.

“At least it wasn’t twelve,” Steve’d shrugged as he watched his wife dance the Macarena with their kids.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Leave a comment if you want :) you can find me on tumblr; [forevergingeratheart](http://www.forevergingeratheart.tumblr.com) and [hannahsfandos](http://www.hannahsfandos.tumblr.com) :D  
> Come fangirl with me!


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